Steiner Education (otherwise known as Waldorf Education) was created over one hundred years ago by Austrian philosopher, educator, artist and polymath Rudolf Steiner, as a response to what he believed to be a crisis of ‘materialism’ and antipathy towards spiritual life before, during and after the Second World War.
Often described as an ‘education towards freedom’, Steiner Education aims to educate the whole human being (thinking, feeling and willing) by bringing content to the child that corresponds with their current state of evolving consciousness. Year to year the child’s consciousness grows, and by acknowledging and honouring this process, Steiner Education meets children where they are, whilst building on their previous understandings. This fosters an intrinsic love of learning.
By integrating the creative and visual arts with all of the content provided, the child is able to connect emotionally and artistically with the lessons and create healthy, imaginative pictures of meaningful and beautiful stories, archetypal symbols and imagery.
Rudolf Steiner emphasised the deeply spiritual and profound task of educating children, and the need for the child to experience a recapitulation of the evolution of human consciousness throughout history during their education, which is why ancient cultures and mythologies feature prominently throughout the primary curriculum. In this way the child may achieve an understanding of their place in the stream of human history, the importance of spiritual life throughout the ages, and develop the capacity to impart meaning to their own life as a result. This foundational emphasis differs significantly from many modern pedagogical approaches, which often place economic, governmental and corporate requirements as prime motivators for designing the education of children.
Whilst Steiner Education de-emphasises the digital and technological realm in the primary years, these are incorporated fully into the high school grades, and are easily assimilated and mastered by the intrinsically motivated learner. Modern digital technology is intuitive and easily comprehended by the adolescent, and as such should play a minimal role in the experience of the young child. This allows them the space to create their own imaginative pictures, rather than process all of the pre-packaged marketing the modern world has to offer. The capacities to think creatively, imaginatively, adaptively and ‘freely’ are hindered in the child by early and extended exposure to all forms of digital media; however the adolescent is far better equipped to engage with the highly conceptual and potentially dangerous digital world if they themselves have been allowed a childhood free from excessive digital interference.
Steiner Home Education Australia is an artistic, creative, relevant and comprehensive education based on the evolving needs and consciousness of your child, that you can provide in your own home!
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do you have an early childhood (prep/kindergarten) program for purchase?
Steiner Home Education Australia offers a home education program based on the indications of Rudolf Steiner, and as such we do not encourage formal schooling before the child is at least six, turning seven years old. This is around the time of the second dentition, which sees the child’s baby teeth begin to fall out and be replaced by the adult teeth, indicating that the formative forces of the body are now freed up to be directed towards more academic/cognitive work. Before this time the home-educated child is far better supported by a rhythmic and predictable home life, combined with wholesome and simple artistic and home activities, surrounded by adults engaged in meaningful work that provide them with healthy role models for their imitation.
- Do your curriculum packages meet the registration requirements of the various state home education units and agencies?
Our program is developed out of our experience using the Australian Steiner Curriculum Framework, which is accredited by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), the relevant government body for approving curricula in Australia. It is aligned with the outcomes of this framework, rather than the Australian National Curriculum. This can be easily demonstrated for the purposes of registration. Our program can form a central part of your home education application, as it provides the relevant program documents needed for each year’s curriculum. However, our curriculum packages do need to be augmented with additional personal and familial information as part of the registration process, which differs from state to state.
- Will I receive a hard copy in the post when I purchase a curriculum?
Our program is digital in nature and can only be accessed through our secure server. All our documents are downloadable and printable however, for ease of use, except our video and audio files, which can only be accessed online. When you purchase any of our curriculum packages, you will receive your login details via email, but you will not receive any hard copies in the post, unless you specifically request this, and we can arrange it for you at an extra cost. We have tried to keep our offering paper-free and as easy to access as possible.
- Do you offer your curriculum term by term?
Offering the terms separately is difficult, due to the holistic and interconnected nature of our program. It is really designed as a whole. For example, in the Grade Four curriculum, we cover the Norse Myths, which includes a Runes project. Later in the year, we continue themes from this series of lessons that refer to and assume knowledge from the Runes. In the History of Writing Main Lesson, we hark back to the Runes and their significance. If you’ve only purchased one term, you miss the beautiful synchronicities that appear all along the way. The learning overlaps and expands on previous learning to create a wonderful and contextual experience for the child.
Alternatively, there is the choice to purchase a Morning Routine (at a much lower cost than the full curriculum) and try this out first to see if it’s a good fit. We also offer a Pay-in-4 PayPal option.
- Are all of the subjects/key learning areas covered in your curriculum?
All of our main lesson programs are integrated units of work which incorporate numerous learning areas in the one lesson, particularly the Arts. This means that the content is brought wholistically, contextually and artistically, allowing far deeper understanding and connections to be established across learning areas. For example, our Herb lessons encompass not only Science, but also English, Geography, Physical Education and Visual Arts. This is very different to the compartmentalisation and separation of academic content often found in other educational frameworks.
- Is your curriculum religious or secular?
Steiner education is neither religious nor secular, but is based on a spiritual perspective. This perspective is taught out of but is never made explicit to the child, as its goal is to expose the children to many of the great spiritual perspectives and traditions of the world, now and throughout history, so that they may be free to engage with a spiritual life in adulthood based on their understanding of humankind’s spiritual heritage.
Stories from many mythologies and spiritual traditions are brought to the child throughout their primary education, and these do include stories from the Old Testament in Grade Three. Steiner specifically prescribed these stories be told to the eight/nine year old child as they speak to the inner experience and consciousness of the child at this age. They are brought to the children through story in the same way that Norse myths will be brought in Grade Four and Greek myths in Grade Five; as stories pregnant with meaning that have been important to the spiritual life of many human beings throughout history, but not as the one ‘truth’.
- How do I access the curriculum? Do I receive lifetime access?
The curriculum packages are all accessed on our secure server via our website. All of the digital content (videos and audio files) are accessible on our site, but cannot be downloaded onto external devices. This is to protect our exclusive content from being shared or viewed without permission. Our program documents, work samples, resource lists, etc. are all available for download however, as they form the foundation of the day-to-day application of the curriculum.
All of our curriculum packages include lifetime access to our resources. This means that you need only buy a Grade’s curriculum once and you can teach it to all of your subsequent children as well. Lifetime access to curricula cannot be sold or transferred by our members to any other party.
- Do you offer a payment plan?
Whilst we don’t offer our curriculum on a term-by-term basis, our curriculum resources can be purchased on a four-part payment plan through PayPal. This allows full access to the Grade’s curriculum without the need to pay in full upon purchase.
- Do you offer refunds?
Due to the digital nature of our program, once you have accessed your account and viewed the content, you have used our product. We will consider a refund within 7 days of purchase, on a case-by-case basis, if there is demonstrable need.